I usually buy "new" clubs a year after they come out because the newer models are out and priced quite high. I find a year later the clubs have come down several hundred dollars and are more affordable.

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always buy a a year or more later, Rarely buy new. In ~ 32 years playing the game I have bought only a handful of clubs retail new. I have bought many new component parts to build my own.
First set that lasted me ~7 years was a $199 11 piece box set of Dynatour Open clubs that I bought at Collegiate in 86. Played my best golf ever with these....go figure. I still have the laminated 5 wood.

Bought TA 845 2 and 1 irons for $35 each in Myrtle early-mid 90's and bought at Taylor Made Ti 320 driver from Targetlines in their fall sale in ~2005.

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Anywhere really. You could do it at a GT, you could go to MG, or TXG, you could go to see Dan, or you could go and see an OEM fitting centre or demo day. All of them are quality fitters that will do the job right. You don't necessarily need to drop $1000 on a driver and $2000 on an iron set to make them work. Sometimes sale items work just fine, as often times technology hasn't jumped too much in the 1 year since release. The F7 to F8 is a good example of that, and so is the Epic to Rogue (some might say Rogue is a step back due to it losing its adjustability). Go in with an open mind and see what happens.

Assuming you're talking $2000 before tax for everything, that's super doable. You could get (for example) a set of the awesome new Cleveland CBX irons 4-PW, or even with a couple of the launcher HB3 hybrids integrated for the same price, a Cobra F7 driver, a couple of 2017 M2 fairways or Callaway XR'16 fairway woods, some new Mizuno T7 Blue Ion wedges, and an Odyssey Works putter and you'd be just over your $2000 budget.

That's some serious, serious gear that will fit a lot of people, and you'd be happy with it for a very long time. Of course, you could also splurge on a set of Epic, XXIO, or some used PXG irons and blow it all in one go too!

Thanks for the advice. Iím probably gonna book a session at GT next week and pull the trigger before the season. No way I could wait now that itís in my head.

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Thanks for the advice. Iím probably gonna book a session at GT next week and pull the trigger before the season. No way I could wait now that itís in my head.

Make sure your testing gear and seeing the most reliable numbers. You dont want juiced up distances, perfect smash factor, etc. Invest in a fitting with the technology to support the dollars your going to spend and you'll be a happy guy!

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Make sure your testing gear and seeing the most reliable numbers. You dont want juiced up distances, perfect smash factor, etc. Invest in a fitting with the technology to support the dollars your going to spend and you'll be a happy guy!

Agreed. GCQuad and GC2s (with HMT) are the most reliable indoor monitors you can get. Trackman is virtually useless unless it has 25 feet of fly space to read your shot, which many places do not possess. GT uses GC2 and TXG uses GCQuad. Those are the two places that are going to give you the most reliable indoor numbers. GT doesn't have HMT mounts, but I wouldn't worry so much about that, to be honest. I get on average 85mph when I'm warmed up on a GC2 at GT, and when I was fit on a Trackman, outside, at sea level, I was averaging 84mph. That 1mph could have been the difference between the days as well. Spin on both was within 150 RPMs, while launch, ball speed, and carry were identical.

OP, go where you are most comfortable. You don't need every single possible readout imaginable to get a good fitting. There are good fitters, like Dan, who don't use any machine to my knowledge, and there are terrible fitters that have all the machines in the world. There are many posts on GolfWRX about nightmare fittings by supposed Top 100 fitters in the U.S. Go with your gut, ask all the pertinent questions that you want answered before you agree to anything, and then if you feel like it wasn't all you had hoped it would be, you can vote with your wallet and choose to not buy any clubs at that location.

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Believe it or not, there can sometimes be value in paying full ticket for new equipment.

If you are looking to get the most out of your new gear, a key component of this is the fitting process. These days, manufacturers often have a substantial list of 'no-charge' shaft options available when the product is current. Once that product cycle is over, custom orders stop and so do the options for these shafts. You could go with an aftermarket shaft, but then you're paying out of pocket for the shaft and the install, new grip, etc. Where you end up is potentially paying MORE than buying the club at MSRP in the first place...

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Yah i used to rag on a GC2 without HMT but i learned its quite accurate. The big thing if u use a GC2 without HMT or a Quad is ur fitter understands its parameters. I.e. the swing speed is useless and irrelevant...

its how ive been misfit before at GT and how at times u may have 2 identical feeling swings but over 10mph diff in SS. Its because its based on ur contact and the ballspeed.

I remembwr when i was a high capper an employee helping me and fitting me into regular based on the SS on tge machine. Meanwhile i learned on my first trackman session im over 100 .It takes a good fitter to use a GC2 without hmt .

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Agreed. GCQuad and GC2s (with HMT) are the most reliable indoor monitors you can get. Trackman is virtually useless unless it has 25 feet of fly space to read your shot, which many places do not possess. GT uses GC2 and TXG uses GCQuad. Those are the two places that are going to give you the most reliable indoor numbers. GT doesn't have HMT mounts, but I wouldn't worry so much about that, to be honest. I get on average 85mph when I'm warmed up on a GC2 at GT, and when I was fit on a Trackman, outside, at sea level, I was averaging 84mph. That 1mph could have been the difference between the days as well. Spin on both was within 150 RPMs, while launch, ball speed, and carry were identical.

OP, go where you are most comfortable. You don't need every single possible readout imaginable to get a good fitting. There are good fitters, like Dan, who don't use any machine to my knowledge, and there are terrible fitters that have all the machines in the world. There are many posts on GolfWRX about nightmare fittings by supposed Top 100 fitters in the U.S. Go with your gut, ask all the pertinent questions that you want answered before you agree to anything, and then if you feel like it wasn't all you had hoped it would be, you can vote with your wallet and choose to not buy any clubs at that location.

So I am new at this fitting thing. I am planning on going to GT to get fitted, but I doubt I want to invest the money in paying for custom clubs from a manufacturer. Will I still be able to buy a set of irons and driver from GT based on their stock/sales? Will it still be worth the fitting? What will GT be able to do with the results of the fitting?

Like I said, I am new at this and I want to make sure I am getting the most out of it. Thanks!

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So I am new at this fitting thing. I am planning on going to GT to get fitted, but I doubt I want to invest the money in paying for custom clubs from a manufacturer. Will I still be able to buy a set of irons and driver from GT based on their stock/sales? Will it still be worth the fitting? What will GT be able to do with the results of the fitting?

Like I said, I am new at this and I want to make sure I am getting the most out of it. Thanks!

I'd go to the St. Catharines store and hit some of the used stuff on the simulator as well. Perhaps you don't need to spend as much as you thought.

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So I am new at this fitting thing. I am planning on going to GT to get fitted, but I doubt I want to invest the money in paying for custom clubs from a manufacturer. Will I still be able to buy a set of irons and driver from GT based on their stock/sales? Will it still be worth the fitting? What will GT be able to do with the results of the fitting?

Like I said, I am new at this and I want to make sure I am getting the most out of it. Thanks!

Absolutely you can. To be honest, stock shafts fit the majority of people because most average players have similar swing tendencies: they don't rotate fully, they come over the top (cast the golf club), and tend to sway into the ball. Further, it's very rare to see someone swing over 95mph with a driver and over 81/82mph with a 7i. So stock shafts for drivers tend to be in the 55-65g range, with a mid-high ball flight and more torque (for more feel). While stock iron shafts (in steel anyway) are in the 90-110g range for your game improvement irons and tend to be about 110-130 for your better player's irons. These have been proven time and again in independent tests by shaft manufacturers to fit the widest group of players.

Part of the fitting is making sure you are walking away with a set of clubs you are interested in that also fit your budget. So you should try a couple of shafts just to see, even if you know that the result would have to be twice as good in order for you to buy it, it still gives you a framework of reference of what fits you best. Also, many companies nowadays have free/no-charge upgrade shafts, with Mizuno and Srixon being the kings of this, offering pretty much every shaft imaginable for irons. The caveat though is you have to buy a current model in order to take advantage of these free upgrades, as discontinued stock is not able to be ordered custom.

The fitting is integral to you playing the best with the golf clubs you are buying, so yes, it is absolutely worth it to get a fitting. For an iron set you are looking at obtaining 17-19* of launch and between 5-6000 RPMs of spin for a 7i. For a driver, we want 10-14* of launch and 2-3000 RPMS of spin. The straighter, the better, obviously, and the higher the ball speed, the better. There is no upper limit to how much ball speed you *should* get, it's constrained by your swing speed absolutely, but the more you can get the better. GT will take the results of the fitting and either order you the clubs that performed best or you can take them and walk and order them elsewhere/think about it for a while. The fitting prices are quoted on the website, and if you call a store.

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I've had a tough time buying new to be honest. I use the Taylormade and Ping examples of the M1/M2 and the G400 as an example. When Taylormade first launched the M1, they only launched the M1, and then a few short months later (could even be weeks) they launched the M2 separately. Then the following year, all 2016 M1/M2 was removed from retail in favour of the 2017 M1/M2. I still don't know what happened to all of that stock! Granted the M1 2017 was apparently a great improvement but the 2017 stayed the same, I can't comment on that. But I recently bought a 2016 M2 and feel it was a great purchase.

In addition, PING has pulled this trick in2017 with the G400 calling it the most forgiving driver they have ever made, and then a few months later introducing the G400 Max. If you were in the market for a forgiving driver and bought the G400 (I can see a lot of people buying it, I've tried it and it's pretty solid) and then 2 months after they bring out the G400 Max you would be pretty heated.

I think irons are mostly retaining their value these days, and I don't mind buying them new, but I think I will stay away from buying woods on their release dates.

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I've had a tough time buying new to be honest. I use the Taylormade and Ping examples of the M1/M2 and the G400 as an example. When Taylormade first launched the M1, they only launched the M1, and then a few short months later (could even be weeks) they launched the M2 separately. Then the following year, all 2016 M1/M2 was removed from retail in favour of the 2017 M1/M2. I still don't know what happened to all of that stock! Granted the M1 2017 was apparently a great improvement but the 2017 stayed the same, I can't comment on that. But I recently bought a 2016 M2 and feel it was a great purchase.

In addition, PING has pulled this trick in2017 with the G400 calling it the most forgiving driver they have ever made, and then a few months later introducing the G400 Max. If you were in the market for a forgiving driver and bought the G400 (I can see a lot of people buying it, I've tried it and it's pretty solid) and then 2 months after they bring out the G400 Max you would be pretty heated.

I think irons are mostly retaining their value these days, and I don't mind buying them new, but I think I will stay away from buying woods on their release dates.

I wouldn't interpret Pings marketing this way. If someone has bought the G400, I think very few might now consider the G400 max. Although, if you haven't opted for the G400 yet, then you might consider the Max a perceived improvement and bypass the G400 for the Max.

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I wouldn't interpret Pings marketing this way. If someone has bought the G400, I think very few might now consider the G400 max. Although, if you haven't opted for the G400 yet, then you might consider the Max a perceived improvement and bypass the G400 for the Max.

You know, youíre probably correct in terms of the consumers. But I still have a difficult time as a potential customer going to buy the latest and greatest from them, and then a few months later they bring out a new product. How could I possibly get excited about a product when I canít trust the manufacturer to better that Ďnewí product in a matter of months? I just donít understand why we preach getting fitted, but not all products are accessible at the same time. I get different manufacturers have different release time frames but I feel they would get more brand loyalty that way. From my view, Titleist seems to have the most consumer brand loyalty because people upgrade their gear with the expected launches (aside from the new SM7 release). What would happen if more manufacturers followed the Titleist model?

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You know, youíre probably correct in terms of the consumers. But I still have a difficult time as a potential customer going to buy the latest and greatest from them, and then a few months later they bring out a new product. How could I possibly get excited about a product when I canít trust the manufacturer to better that Ďnewí product in a matter of months? I just donít understand why we preach getting fitted, but not all products are accessible at the same time. I get different manufacturers have different release time frames but I feel they would get more brand loyalty that way. From my view, Titleist seems to have the most consumer brand loyalty because people upgrade their gear with the expected launches (aside from the new SM7 release). What would happen if more manufacturers followed the Titleist model?

I certainly understand your view. This used to be extremely frustrating when clubs were improving. Now, even if a manufacturer comes out with a new and improved version in a few months of their last release, we pretty much know that it won't be leaps and bounds ahead anyway. You see players now sticking with drivers that are 5 years old.

In the manufacturers defense, you really can't blame them for continually trying to improve on their products. As consumers, we're more comfortable with 2 year cycles like Titleist has, but the bottom line is, no one holds a gun to your head and makes you buy the next great thing to come along.